Economy

Here is yet
another bit of data that is utterly out of line with the concept of a
still-expanding economy. In 2002, we were still mired in the
after-effects of the 2001 recession.

So how is it
possible to (allegedly) be expanding at a rate of 3.3% at the same time
that layoffs are so high that they are better matched to a recessionary
period?

Here is yet
another fuzzy number that is so far off the charts as to be
unbelievable, or even laughable.

A few months ago, Bill Gross and PIMCO went on a big
buying spree of Fannie and Freddie (GSE) debt. At the time, they knew
they were taking a risk, but they thought everybody was pricing that
debt too low and they could make a few bucks by being cleverer than the
next guy.

The dollar
is cheap because the US has been more aggressive in bringing rates
down? Say what, Roddy?

Here is yet
another indication that Europe is both in the clutches of a major
crisis and is dealing with it more openly than the US.

Here is yet
another indication that the economy is neither expanding nor is in
particularly good shape.

In Europe,
the ECB reacted sooner and more aggressively than did the US, at least
when it came to lending cash to troubled banks.

So, assuming
this rumor is true, what we have here is a case where the world’s
central bankers, the same ones that looked the other way while the most
obvious and largest of all crises developed, have decided that they are
the right ones to set a price on the dollar.

You have to
recognize that either you live in a world where nothing makes the
slightest bit of sense, or you live in a world where various
prices of things are heavily influenced by officials seeking to sustain
the unsustainable.

I wanted to
contrast this with the recent miracle 3.3% GDP number. One thing that
is NOT consistent with an expanding economy is a big surge in
bankruptcy filings.